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  2nd Quarter Benchmark Shareout

Posted by Diana Laufenberg in American Government - Laufenberg on
1.  Go to B Band Voicethread.
2.  Register for an account.
3.  Add one image to the collective voicethread.
  • Choose one of your 12 items from the benchmark to highlight
  • Locate an image that best represents that item - you can use the flickr Creative Commons to find an image if you do not have one
  • Narrate your paragraph that accompanies that item from your benchmark
4.  Comment on at least two other 'pages' from the collective voicethread.  Ask a question.  Push back on their reasoning.  Affirm their position.  Be thoughtful

Q2 AmGov BM

Posted by Jeremy Cothran in American Government - Laufenberg on

do not click HERE, that is not the Benchmark, or is it?

REFLECTION

I went about choosing the items for my 12 laws by just googling and researching things, at first I looked up Laws, cases, and functions involving school and education because that would most commonly affect me because I got to school, Then I tried thinking outside the box and finding smaller things that affect me such as curfew and smaller things. Then I searched laws that should be repealed or laws that benefit general people and found some laws that were generally affecting to my life.

The Process for the project was tedious, It wasn’t hard writing it up, but there was a lot of research to be done for this project, I know we had a couple examples that we could use and I welcomed the examples with open arms when I used them, but I still needed to spend hours looking for things that affect me directly and what part of government they apply to, It was time consuming.

I do think my life will be more affected by the government as I get older, because as I get older I will have to worry about Taxes and Jury duty and stuff of the kind that applies to adults. Right now I’m living at home and my aunt is taking care of everything that needs to be taken care of to live, Working, Taxes, and health insurance.

Doing this project makes me think how much the government has an impact on how I live my life, and without knowing really, I do things that the government has set-up for me as a person to be able to do, and I can honestly be thankful for that, however, I know the negatives the government has set-up for me much more clear because it negatively impacts my life. Looking at this with that perspective I would disregard the positives that government has set-up for me and criticize the government for having negatives, which is very biased. You win some, you lose some, it’s the basis of life, can’t have everything you want.


History Benchmark

Posted by Perry Woods in American Government - Laufenberg on

Here is the place to find my history benchmark.

This benchmark to me was definitely one that I learned from as I went along. Yet when it came to the process of working on this benchmark I did have complications. From choosing the correct tops to include and also actually writing each paragraph there where many little complications along the way. Still I continued to work hard in order to get the full amount that I could learn out of this project.
 
 When it came to choosing my topics I tried to think of things that related to my life. Such as for looking into the judicial branch I found it easier to look into Supreme Court cases about students. Executive branch & legislative was easier to look into things I encounter everyday. Once I got to this point I then went onto pointing out specifics in order to narrow down my topics. From there I went on to researching, formatting and writing. Writing the paragraphs was the most complicated part for me as at times I was unsure what to say.

 With this benchmark I realized how much of a role the government plays already into my day to day lie. From what I see I know that this wont change. As I get older attend college, get a job, eventually my own home, etc. The government will always be there in some way playing a role in how I live and what I do. The ways it will be present might change compared to now but who is to say.

Dominque Miller's 2nd Quarter Benchmark

Posted by Dominque Miller in American Government - Laufenberg on

Link to my project.

The way I went about choosing the items that I felt applied was just thinking about what truly affects me in my every day life, which was easy. Paying taxes, and filling out the FASFA are things that I am facing right  now, so it was only natural that I decided to write about it for this project. I feel as though this project was harder as went a long. I say this because I knew about the items I had chosen but when I had to actually put it into words it became difficult for me. Certain parts like unemployment were easy to write about, I just did not know what pages I should link it too, and it was almost impossible to find a legitimate author for the items.

I feel as though as I get older the way the government affects my life will definitely increase. Now I am affected but once I get out on my own things will most certainly change. I'll no longer be under mother anymore and will be seen as an adult so things are going to change whether I like it or not. I feel as though the process will be very difficult to get use to because the government is always so extra. I feel as though I didn't learn that much from this project that I hadn't already learned from this quarter. The only thing this really did was make me realize how much government affects out every day life, sometimes in a negative and sometimes in a positive way.

2nd Quarter Benchmark: Government's Impact on my Life

Posted by Taylor Valentine in American Government - Laufenberg on

Click here to view the project.

For this project, I tried to choose items that were most prevalent to my life, even if they were slightly obscure.  For example, Loving v. Virginia abolished statutes that prevented interracial marriage.  I had never heard of this ruling before, but as a biracial young woman, it directly applies to my life. I utilized a lot of web articles that outlined important decisions or offices.  Overall, it was a more difficult process than I thought it would be.  In general, I believe that my government has my best interests in mind and makes decisions, laws and processes that are beneficial to me.  Finding examples that negatively impact my life required significantly more research and analysis.  

As I get older, the government will impact my life more frequently and severely.  Currently, I'm just beginning to interact with certain offices, like Federal Student Aid and to be affected by laws, such as the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act.  Soon, I will have to pay taxes, one of the biggest impacts that the government has on anyone's life.  When I begin to vote, purchase a car, get married, have children, etc., I will only increase my interaction.  

This was a great way to conclude the learning that I've done it this class.  I was able to apply what I've learned during the last five months about American government and directly connect it to my life.  The project required me to take a long, hard look at my life and see exactly how it is affected my an entity that I often take for granted. 

2nd Quarter Benchmark Description

Posted by Diana Laufenberg in American Government - Laufenberg on

  • Three Branches - Legislative, Executive and Judicial

    • For EACH branch identify TWO positive and TWO negative examples of how the branch of government impacts your life. (can be STATE, LOCAL or FEDERAL)

  • Identify at least one reputable source for each of the 12 different pieces of the project. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA AS A SOURCE
  • Cite the source using the MLA format

  • Write a one paragraph for each of the 12 pieces that summarizes the law, bureaucratic office or court case AND then EXPLAIN how that law/bureaucratic office/court case positively or negatively impacts your life. **If you would like to communicate the information in some other format than writing... clear it with me, I am open to creative suggestions. I REALLY welcome a more creative approach, don't be boring. please.

For instance... for me I would write for one of the legislative negatives:

 

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

 

"No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" Pub.L. 107-110 January, 2002. 23 Dec. 2009. <http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html>.

 

No Child Left Behind is a piece of legislation that brought stronger federal control over individual state and locally run schools. Under this legislation, federal monies were only disbursed to those schools and districts abiding by the stipulations outlined within the law. Throughout the tenure of this legislation, schools have increased the number and intensity of multiple choice testing to adhere to the accountability requirements. After beginning my teaching career in 1997, I was given free reign to teach the content and in the manner that suited project based learning. After the passage of NCLB, project based learning became an unpopular approach to teaching because of its inability to easily assess the student's learning. This devaluing of project based learning has had an overall negative impact on the teaching and learning that I witness in the vast majority of schools. In effect, this law has turned my profession into a less thoughtful and reflective career, thus negatively impacting my life.

Don't Ask Don't Tell: Blog Post 5

Posted by Andre Serrano in American Government - Laufenberg on

​For the past semester, I have been lobbying for the senate to repeal the blatantly homophobic policy that prohibited gays from serving in the military, called Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I have attempted to help this cause by writing letters to senators who were seemingly “on the fence” about this issue, and publishing regular blog posts revealing the truth behind Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

 I have witnessed a complete turnaround in regards to the support it received in the senate. Originally, it was placed inside a larger defense bill; however, rejected the bill, deeming it too complex to be able to sufficiently debate the topic before the Christmas break. When the bill was apparently dead, Susan Collins presented the bill in a piece of stand alone legislation as a last attempt to get it through the senate, and on December 18, In a 65-31 vote, the Senate passed the repeal that would allow thousands of Americans to serve in the military being openly homosexual. This was a historic achievement by president Obama. This victory was symbolic of several victories Obama added to his repertoire throughout a very productive lame duck session. Although failing to pass the Dream Act, he was able to sign a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, and cut taxes for millions of Americans.

This was a pressing civil rights issue that had taunted the gay community for 17 years. I personally agree with President Obama who strongly advocated for soldiers to serve in the military being openly gay. "I don't know what it's like to be picked on for being gay. But I do know what it’s like to grow up feeling that sometimes you don’t belong. It’s tough.” This was a historic moment in Obama’s presidency.  He was able to come through on a campaign promise that reigned in thousands of voters, and he was able to repeal a law that had hindered our nation’s security and the freedom of thousands of Americans.

 

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AMGOV-001

Term
2010-11

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